New Grant for Doctoral Study in Early Education of Diverse Young Learners

Early Childhood Education faculty, Drs. Thorp, Kidd, Burns, and Sánchez have been awarded a federal grant from 2007 to 2011 to provide tuition and stipend support for doctoral students to develop research and leadership skills related to culturally, linguistically diverse young children with disabilities.

New Leaders Now provides tuition and stipend support for selected doctoral candidates through a federally funded doctoral leadership program in early intervention and early childhood special education. New Leaders Now was awarded to Early Childhood Education faculty members Eva Thorp, Julie Kidd, M. Susan Burns, and Sylvia Y. Sánchez by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Program. It is designed to prepare future higher education faculty, researchers and leaders in early childhood special education who will possess the knowledge, competencies, and insights to address the specialized needs of culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse young children and their families.

The doctoral fellows funded by this project will be enrolled in the George Mason University (GMU) Ph. D. program, with a major in early childhood education. Prior to the dissertation, they will enroll in a 21-credit major concentration in Early Intervention and Early Childhood, a 12-credit minor concentration of their choice, two leadership internships, and a 20-credit sequence of core courses in leadership and research methodology required of all PhD candidates. Fellows will also participate in monthly New Leaders Now seminars in partnership with GMU's Multicultural Research and Resource Center, where they will examine issues related to their roles in promoting equity and access for young children with disabilities and their families, including access to the general curriculum.

For more information contact:
Nanette Rutsch, Early Childhood Program Assistant
703.993.3844 or
earlyed@gmu.edu